Finding Time to Read

One troubling thing about writing a lot of fiction is that I have less time to read. I not only write my own stuff, but I participate in a critique group in which we read one another's work weekly, and I manage my writing business. The latter does not interest me much, but if I don't do it well I sell fewer books.

Several years ago I began to read audio books all the time. I have them in the car and by my bed. That guarantees me at least twenty-four works of fiction a year.

I've finally begun reading books on my phone (in addition to a Kindle) because I'll always have my phone with me. I tend to make these lighter works, because I dive in and out of them in grocery store lines.

I haven't read much on paper for the last few years. After moving several times and giving away a lot of books, I made a conscious decision to largely buy ebooks. Of course, I use the library.

But several times in the last year I ended up in a situation where either Wi-Fi wasn't available or my phone battery was low. Nothing worse than waiting in a doctor's office with nothing to do. (I won't touch the magazines--think how many sick people have leafed through them.)

So I've started keeping books in the car again. My library has a huge used book room, so paperbacks are only seventy-five cents. I've finished a couple books in the last few months, and last week read an entire paperback on a train trip.

So many books, so little time...
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